Love's Sickness
by Lord Nocato
Summary: Merry is hit with a disease that's spreading across the Shire, but Pippin is there for him through it all. Then, some nosy spying maids see the intimacy between Merry and Pippin firsthand... and get caught!


_More Hobbit-love! But, this one's also considered incest… naughty boys…_

**Love's Sickness  
****(P/M)  
****By Lord Nocato**

Pippin poked at the ground in his worry. He had been crouching down and staring at the dirt for hours, but his mind was stuck on the same thing the whole time: Merry.

Merry had come down with some illness earlier that week, an epidemic that had been spreading around Hobbiton. Everyone was scared and staying indoors, and Pippin's parents had prodded him to do so, as well. But he couldn't! He wanted to stay by his cousin, Merry, until he got better.

Right now, the doctor was inside with Merry, kicking Pippin to the curb; or in this case, the front step. He waited patiently, though, not wanting to make the Brandybucks angry at him. If they got mad at him, he'd have to leave, go home, and stay inside, so far away from his beloved cousin.

Pippin began to worry that Merry might have died—the doctor was in there for so long…

Inside, Merry was coughing blood into a bucket beside his bed, while the doctor stood, shaking his head, wondering how in Middle Earth the Shire was going to survive this breakout ofthis new disease. He left the room, saying "Meriadoc, I'm going to go speak with your parents, now. You stay in here and do NOT leave, in fear of spreading this to the rest of Brandy Hall. If that Peregrin wishes to come in here with you again, I warn you now, he's risking his own safety." Merry sighed as the door clicked shut. "Great…" he mumbled, plopping back into a laying position. "I don't want him to have to deal with this, too…" Merry looked towards his window, before quickly rolling over to choke up in the bucket once more.

Right when the front door opened, Pippin jumped to his feet, a bad idea, since he then got a head rush and fell over. The doctor laughed. "Peregrin, you should not stand so quickly after sitting prostrate for so long," he stated. "Yeah? I guess I just learned that the hard way, Mister Doctor," said Pippin, slowly lifting himself back up, and patting the dirt off his clothes. "So? Is Merry okay? Can I go back to him, now?" he asked.

The doctor frowned. "Let me warn you, boy," he said, grimly, "Meriadoc's condition IS contagious, meaning that by being near him, you can get it, too." Pippin's eyes got big. "Has anyone… died… from this, doctor?" he asked, squeaking a little. "Not yet," the doctor replied. "But someone may. You have been warned," he added, and walked off to his pony-drawn wagon.

Pippin ran through the front door, skidded around a corner, rushed past a few startled maids, and burst into Merry's room. Merry jumped at the noise. "Oh- oh my Eru, Pippin, don't scare me like that!" he started. Pippin, ignoring that, jumped onto Merry's bed and hugged him, crying. "Don't die, Mer, please?" Merry looked down at Pippin, then down at the blood in the bucket on the floor. "Pippin, you shouldn't be here, you'll get sick…" he said, worried. Pippin looked up at Merry with tear-filled eyes. "I can't leave you when you're like this!" he said, face flushed from crying. Merry ignored the feeling that he just got from seeing that face on Pippin, and said again, "Pippin, you _must_ leave! I wouldn't be able to stand if you got sick and it was my fault!" Pippin hugged Merry tighter. "No." he said firmly, starting to shake with exasperation. Merry sighed. "Okay, Pippin, you win! Now, get off me, before I lose my blood all over you!" he said, a hint of joking in his voice. Pippin laughed. "Alright, cousin, sorry…"

A few days passed, but instead of getting better, Merry was getting worse. He barely moved, didn't eat, and only drank water that Pippin basically forced him to. His throat was in such a state that he couldn't talk, and Pippin was really starting to think Merry was going to die. He gulped, thinking back to earlier that morning, when the doctor came by to tell them that a poor Hobbit-lass had died from the sickness. Pippin shook his head vigorously. No, Merry _could not_ die. He was too strong… or at least, Pippin hoped so. He looked doubtfully at his pale, sleeping cousin. Tears came to his eyes, and he laid his head beside one of Merry's motionless hands, stroking it with his own fingers, and crying. "Don't die, please…"

Merry opened one eye and looked down at Pippin. Pippin, crying. Why? Merry… Merry was making him cry. What could he do, though? He could not help being sick. _"I'm just going to have to will myself better…"_ thought Merry, closing his eyes once more. He let out a pained sigh, and Pippin looked up at him in surprise. "Oh, Merry, my cousin, what I wouldn't give for you to get better, so we could have fun together again…" Pippin rubbed his eyes, yawned, laid his head on the bedside again, and drifted off into sleep.

The next morning, Merry woke up on his own, and looked around. Pippin was asleep, sitting in a chair beside Merry's bed, with his arms and head on it. Merry sat up, for the first time in a week. His back snapped and he winced, but it didn't hurt, it actually felt good. He glanced back down to Pippin, and noticed his face was red. Merry gently put the palm of his hand on Pippin's forehead, and realized he was feverish. "Aw, Pip, you silly fool, you've worried yourself into a fever!" he said, appalled.

Merry attempted to stand up, but when he did, he became suddenly dizzy and collapsed. He held his now-aching head. His stomach growled, and he realized he hadn't eaten in… how long? He scrambled back to his feet, holding onto the walls for support, and managed to get to the door of his room. He pushed it open, startling a maid who was walking down the hall with armfuls of clean, folded laundry. She nearly dropped them when she saw Merry's pale face pop out of the room. "M-master Meriadoc, s-sir!" she stuttered, but Merry hushed her by holding up his hand. Gathering a breath, he managed to weakly say, "I'm… hungry." The maid jumped, and ran off, stammering "Y-yes sir, breakfast will be prepared for you, right away!"

Merry watched her dash off for a moment, and then dragged himself back to his bed. He sat silently for ten minutes before two maids with big grins on their faces popped into the room, carrying breakfast on trays. One maid looked like dancing. She said, "Oh, my! Master Meriadoc is feeling better? He will eat? Joyous day, Master, you had the whole Hall worried much!" She pranced to the bedside and placed a tray in front of Merry. He smiled at her. "Thank you, lady, but…" he pointed at Pippin's flushed face. "I think someone else needs tending to now." The second maid placed her tray on a dresser and looked closely at Pippin. "Oh, dear…" she mumbled. "Master Peregrin has been so loyal, staying by you, and now look, he's gotten himself ill in the process!" She put her hand on his cheek, and quickly drew back. "Eru! He's hot as the bacon-pan! I shall fetch, well… somebody!" She jumped up and scurried out the door. The first maid, the dancing, peppy one, now looked grim. She stared unhappily at Pippin. "Poor dear!" she said. She looked back at Merry, who was staring at Pippin with a face of pure adoration. The maid blushed, quickly pushing back a thought…

The second maid returned with the master of Brandy Hall, Saradoc Brandybuck, who, when he entered, was overjoyed to see the maid told the truth; his son was fully sitting up. Saradoc ran to Pippin, though, knowing the real reason he was summoned. He peered into Pippin's face, listening to his uneasy breathing. Saradoc stood up and frowned. "I have called for the doctor, but I feel Peregrin shall be returning home soon," he said.

Merry was eating his breakfast slowly, trying not to upset his underfed belly. He looked up at his father and sighed. Saradoc wondered what was meant by that, and, figuring Merry wanted to be left alone to eat, strode out the door, closing it behind himself and the maids. Merry prodded Pippin gently on the shoulder. Pippin groaned and opened one eye to look at Merry. Merry cocked his head, eating a piece of bacon intently, and when he finished it, said "Morning, coz." Pippin opened his other eye, too, and stared in awe. "You… you're better…. Mer…" he said weakly. "Mostly, but you aren't," laughed Merry. "You've worried yourself sick-- literally, Pip!" Pippin pushed on the bed to pick himself up. "I feel cold, Merry," he said lamely. Merry frowned. "That's the opposite of how you feel to others," he replied. "The doctor's coming to look at you, so stay put." He sighed. "But, also… he's probably going to say you have so go home today." Pippin's eyes widened. "Oh…" he said feebly, "I d-don't want to, really, I'm not s-sick…" His words were breathless. Merry felt like he was melting inside. "Pippin, you _are_ sick. You need to go home. You need rest, and to stop worrying. I'm mostly better now, so you don't have to think about that any more…" He felt himself blush at the idea of Pippin _thinking_ about him. Pippin was so worn out; he didn't notice Merry go pink. "I…" he never finished, he had passed out, and toppled out of the chair, onto the ground. Merry gasped.

The doctor came in a minute later, to see Merry standing, and trying to pick a beet-red Pippin up off the ground. He dashed over to help, and together, Merry and the doctor hoisted Pippin into Merry's cushiony bed.

The doctor looked at Merry, who swayed a little as he walked over to plop into the chair Pippin had been sitting in just moments ago. He smiled uneasily. "It looks as if you've gotten quite a bit better, Master Meriadoc," he said. Merry nodded. "Sure, but what of Pippin?" He wasn't especially worried about himself. His Pippin was ill, and that was all that seemed to matter at the moment. The doctor grinned. "You two… you guys are so alike. Master Peregrin was the same way while you were sick. Ah, to have such friendships. You should be proud. Anyhow," he glanced down at Pippin, "this one will be alright with rest and perhaps…" he eyed Merry. "What?" asked Merry, becoming annoyed. The doctor continued, "Perhaps if somebody who cares dearly for him were to make him some broth soup, he would heal faster," the doctor smiled wryly and shrugged. "I'm off!" he said merrily, and left Merry behind to gawk at the door stupidly. He shuddered. _"Creepy doctor,"_ he thought, and jumped up. "Well, it's a good idea anyways, and I should at least do something, my body is lamed from lying still for too long." He gazed sadly at Pippin. "I will come back soon," he said softly, and walked out towards the kitchen, swerving accidentally on occasion, to run into a wall, or once, a maid. He cursed under his breath, and finally made it, safely, to his destination.

A maid who served as the cook eyed Merry. "Need somethin', Master?" she asked, boredly. Merry pushed her gently out of the kitchen. "No, leave me be for a while, miss," he said. The maid looked after him, flustered, as he walked back into the kitchen. "Why, I never!" she said softly, "A Master Brandybuck doing cookin' for himself?" She peeked into the kitchen and spied on Merry, wondering what in Middle Earth might have possessed him to do a maid's job.

Pippin awoke, but was still weary. His eyes went to the window, and he rolled his head over to that direction. This wasn't his room, no. This was… He blushed and looked around. He was alone. And he was in Merry's room… better, he was in Merry's _bed_. He sighed, remembering passing out after… Wait, Merry said he'd have to go home. Alas, he wasn't. Pippin smiled. The doctor had left him here. But… He looked around some more. Where was Merry? Pippin shivered, and rolled onto his side. _"He probably had to relieve himself…"_ thought Pippin, as he drifted off into sleep once more.

Pippin was startled awake by the low click of the door opening, and the soft, yet uneven, pad of -obviously dizzy- feet. He heard the clink of a bowl on the table beside Merry's bed, and willed himself to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was the doorway. The door was open a crack, and Pippin could see the curious eyes of the still-spying cook-maid. He rolled his head over, and looked up at Merry. Merry, although surprised his cousin had wakened, smiled in greeting. "It's a bit late now, Pip, to be waking up! But, never mind that, would you like some soup?" His eyes sparkled, and Pippin just stared in awe for a few moments before saying "Soup?" Merry nodded. "I made it, just for you, you had me so frightened, coz." Pippin, who was starting to cool down a little, reddened again, but this time, he was blushing. "I… I would love it, Mer," he said, quietly. Merry helped his cousin sit up in the bed, then set the bowl gently in his lap.

The cook-maid watched still, and was blushing very much. She realized now, _"Aw… Master Brandybuck was cooking for his sick cousin. How sweet,"_ she smiled. Another maid, who was walking quietly down the hallway, glanced at the spying one. "Lilliana? What're you looking at?" she asked in a hushed voice. The cook-maid, Lilliana, jumped. "I'm not lookin' at anything!" she whispered. The other maid peeked into the room, and then scowled at Lilliana. "You're spying on Master Meriadoc!" she whispered, harshly. Then, eyeing the crack, she shrugged and decided to join in on the spying.

Pippin finished the soup, and began to feel warm inside. "Oh, lovely," he mumbled, "thank you so much, Merry, I'm feeling better already!" He hugged his cousin, with a smile, and Merry tried to push back the "bad" thoughts that began to invade his mind. He always loved Pippin, since the day the little Hobbit was born. But when he started to think like _this_, Merry could not remember. He swallowed the saliva that had gathered a tad too much in his mouth.

The two maids at the door made a simultaneous soft gasp when they saw Merry go red at Pippin's hug. "You don't think…" Lilliana started, hushed. "No way…" whispered the other. "It couldn't be, Master Meriadoc…? He's not…" But both girls were doubtful.

When Pippin did not let go, Merry cleared his throat, hinting to Pippin that he was starting to not be able to breathe. "Oh," said Pippin, apologetically, "Sorry, Mer. Guess I kind of spaced out, there." He laughed. Merry smiled. "You… silly fool!" Merry tackled Pippin instinctually and started tickling him. Pippin was laughing so much that he was beginning to hurt, but he didn't care. He and Merry felt better again, and were acting the way they used to. He loved it. He loved Merry.

The girls at the door were giggling. "Oh… oh, no!" laughed Lilliana. "They're so cute! Such friends, I don't know Mirabelle, they couldn't be…" The other maid, Mirabelle, covered her mouth to stop her silly giggling. "Oh, come, Lilliana, maybe they are but don't realize yet. I want to see where this goes," she snickered. "Hoy, we might see something interesting!" Lilliana snorted. "I don't think I'd want to, but, then…" her eyes blazed, "Then again, I haven't seen anything good for quite a while. Let us watch still!" The two maids laughed, and then hushed and watched again.

Merry and Pippin lay, side by side, panting, gasping for breath, and still laughing. Pippin felt terribly like he wanted to go outdoors and have some fun, but then he remembered the epidemic. "Oh, Merry…" he said. Merry looked sideways at him. "When will this stupid sickness leave the Shire? I don't think I've ever wanted more to go outside and raid a vegetable garden, or something of the sort," Pippin sighed. Merry laughed. "Pippin, I couldn't agree with you more. But…" He looked down at the ground. "I'm afraid, with my dizziness, we'd just get caught, not to mention the maids might tie us down if we try to leave Brandy Hall in the first place." Pippin sighed. "Surely there's something we could do indoors, for fun…" he pondered. "I wonder if we could get some maids to play hide-n-seek with us?" he added, doubtfully. Merry shrugged.

"Play hide-n-seek with Master Meriadoc and Master Peregrin? Oh, doesn't that sound fun," joked Mirabelle, silently.

After a few moments of irritating silence, Pippin rolled over to look at Merry. Merry turned his head and looked back at Pippin. He suddenly blushed, without reason. Pippin giggled. "What's wrong, Mer? Feeling ill again?" And with that he kissed Merry, climbing atop him, without thinking, and running his fingers through his cousin's hair.

Merry didn't know what hit him. While Pippin kissed him, his eyes just widened, and he froze up. He hadn't expected this, of all things, to be Pippin's idea of what to do as entertainment. Merry was startled, but finally shook himself out of it when Pippin pulled back and looked disdainfully at him. He blinked, trying to process what just happened, and then looked into Pippin's eyes, trying to figure out what was going through his head. Instead, Merry got what had been going through _his_ head, earlier. He realized he had never expected Pippin to requite the feelings, or if he did, Merry had _definitely_ not expected Pippin to make the first move, or for that matter, be on _top_. His heart began to beat faster, and he felt hot. Pippin smirked, watching Merry's face get deeper and deeper shades of pink. Then, he kissed him once more. This time, Merry kissed back, and held Pippin to him, not wanting him to pull back. Their body heat on each other was beginning to make them both sweat, but neither one minded. They just kept on with it, lost in their passion.

Suddenly Pippin found himself undoing Merry's pants. He paused, not knowing what had come over him. But… he continued.

Merry and Pippin heard a squeal. They both sat up quickly, blushing, Merry re-doing his pants. A gasp was heard at the door, and the voice of a female Hobbit cursing under her breath. Scrambling footsteps were heard, but Pippin was too fast, he had opened the door and tripped the two spies, who now lay on the ground, red as tomatoes, mortified.

Merry walked up to the door, and gaped at the two maids. "Really!" he said, frustrated, "I ought to get my father to fire you both, right now! Spying on me…" Mirabelle started crying. "I'm sorry, Master Meriadoc! It's just, I saw Lilliana peeking in, and, and, I wanted… to know what she was looking at, that's all!" Lilliana looked flabbergasted. "What! Well, I… Master Brandybuck, I was wondering why you were cookin' and, I followed you to here, and it was so cute how much you cared about poor sick Master Took, and, well, I should have left, but…" she paused. "I was being rude and nosy. Just fire me, I'll leave…" she looked down at the floor, tears in her eyes.

Merry licked his lips in thought, and looked over at Pippin. "What do you think?" Merry asked him. Pippin frowned. "Oh, Eru, they saw, Merry… What if they tell?" Lilliana gasped. "I surely won't tell anybody!" she promised. Mirabelle sat up, nodding excitedly. "Me, neither, Master Meriadoc, please! We promise we won't tell a soul!" Merry sighed. Pippin sighed. The maids sighed. "Fine," said Merry, hiding the fright in his voice, "If you _promise_ not to tell anybody what you've seen, I won't tell my father you two were spying on me, and nobody will get in trouble. Okay?" The maids nodded, crying. "Yes, yes, of course, we promise, sir," they said, and went off to their business.

Merry stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, unhappy. Pippin watched Mirabelle walk hurriedly off to do work. Pippinthen watchedMerry stare off into nowhere, thinking. Finally, with a disappointed smile, Merry said, "Nothing's ever private in this damn hole." Merry and Pippin laughed together. "Maybe another time, some other place…" sighed Pippin. "I'm sorry, Mer." Merry gave Pippin a noogie. "Don't be! Now… let's gather some maids and play hide-n-seek!"

"Okay!" said Pippin happily, and they raced out into Brandy Hall, holding hands, laughing.

The End :3

_(Review, but keep all Homophobia to yourself. Thankees!)_


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